


betting warmth against the cold

by Superhiro



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Brotherly Love, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Post-Promised Day, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 10:21:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13409205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superhiro/pseuds/Superhiro
Summary: A cold night brings the first snow of the Winter season to Resembool, and Alphonse is ready to experience it in his recently returned body. But, of course, Ed has to be woken up and dragged along with him.





	betting warmth against the cold

**Author's Note:**

> I am incredibly late with this, but this is a gift for the Fullmetal Secret Santa exchange on tumblr for user lluxaeterna! Hope you enjoy this fluffy adventure with the Elric Brothers! Title comes from the song Snow by Sleeping at Last.

"Brother!" A voice called excitedly, and a light shake of Edward’s shoulder soon accompanied it.

Ed groaned and turned his head deeper into his pillow. Despite not knowing what time it was, he knew that it was way too early for _this_. It felt like he had barely just flopped down onto his bed and now he was already being woken up. He was _so_ done with the fatigue of early mornings and would happily sleep until noon each day when that option was available. After years of constant stress from a mission that sometimes seemed impossible he deserved that much.

"I'm trying to sleep, Al!" He complained, drowsiness overpowering any care for what his brother actually wanted.

"I know, but it's _snowing_!" Alphonse argued, voice full of amazement.

"Who cares?!" Ed snapped. "You've seen snow before."

"Well, yes, but..." Al's voice trailed off for a moment, and when he spoke again it was much softer. "It all feels so different now."

With that simple change of tone, the reality of the situation dawned onto Ed and he reluctantly moved into a sitting position, blinking his eyes opened. Alphonse was sitting on the edge of his bed, eyes focused on the window of their shared room where, surely enough, a flurry of snow was falling down from the sky. It was still dark out, which confirmed that it _was_ way too early for them to be awake, and Ed wondered what exactly had woken his brother up in the first place.

"Why weren't you sleeping?" He asked. It had barely been six months since Al had regained his body and usually he was happy to sleep whenever he was given the opportunity. And in Ed's opinion he _needed_ that sleep. While Alphonse looked a lot better than he had during his first several weeks back, he still wasn't in the healthiest condition and getting an optimal amount of sleep was something Ed was told was vital for his recovery.

"I uh- just sort of woke up when the snow started." Al said with a little laugh. "Guess I was able to sense it or something."

"Right..." Ed muttered, not buying the excuse at all, and if the look in Al's eyes was anything to go by, he hadn't expected him to believe it either. He’d have to work on prying out the true reason for this restlessness before he fell back asleep.

Alphonse stood up, taking slow and easy steps towards the window. He leaned against the sill and let out a sigh as he stared outside. His next words were so soft Ed almost didn't catch them; “It's so beautiful..."

Smiling fondly, Ed crawled out of his bed and went to stand next to Al by the window. He was right. The sight really was beautiful. The snow fell down slowly, gently and gracefully before landing on the ground where a thin layer of it already rested overtop the hills surrounding the Rockbell home. The sky was illuminated by a bright, full moon, which caused the night to feel a little less daunting than usual.

"You know, snowflakes are supposed to be totally unique. If you were to take any group of them and enhance them with a microscope, the designs would be different on each and every one." Ed explained.

"Yeah... It's amazing, isn't it? Just like human souls, no two could ever be completely alike." Al said.

Ed nodded and moved his gaze over to his brother, seeing how his eyes practically sparkled as he watched the scene before them.

"You want to go out there, don't you, Al?" Ed asked, his smile turning up into a smirk.

Al's lips quirked into a smile of their own, and he turned to meet Ed's eyes. "Will you come with me? We can catch snow on our tongues like when we were kids."

It was a silly idea, and usually Ed would like to think he was too mature to give into a desire as childish as that. But maybe, after being forced to grow up, fight evil and deal with so much loss, they deserved to take a moment to truly act like they children they still were.

"Of course. Wouldn't want you wandering out there without supervision when you could easily slip and break your arm or something.” He teased.

Al rolled his eyes. "Give me a break, brother."

"Fine, fine. But seriously... if you want me to come, I'm right behind you." Ed promised.

Al's smile returned full force, and even after all of these months, Ed still didn't tire of seeing it. The world was surely a darker place when it had gone so long without that smile lighting it up.

"Okay, let's go then." Al said. He moved away from the window and quickly went to retrieve a couple sweaters from the closet. He slipped on a fuzzy blue one of his own and tossed Ed his white hoodie, which he easily caught.

Ed stared down at it for a moment and found himself somewhat missing his old red coat. That was _definitely_ more stylish, and it was a little strange that he was no longer able to even transmute a new one. He knew he could ask Alphonse to do it if he really wanted, but perhaps, no matter what fondness he still held for the look, it was better to leave it in the past.

"Come on," Al encouraged from the door, "I thought you were coming!"

The present was so much better to focus on anyway.

"I'm coming, I’m coming. No need to rush me, Al." Ed said, finally pulling on the sweater and following his brother out the door.

It barely took a minute for them to make their way through the Rockbell home as quietly as they could manage, slip on their boots and rush out the front door.

The moment they made it outside, Alphonse ran down the porch steps and out to the middle of the snowy pathway, staring up at the falling flakes with wonder. He raised his right hand towards the sky, and held it there until pieces of snow landed onto it. He gasped and hastily pulled it back down, watching as the substance melted away completely.

"It's so cold..." He whispered, and looked up to meet Ed's eyes once again.

Ed tried to push down the guilt that gnawed at his heart. It was still hard not to blame himself for all that Al had gone through. Things were so much better now than they were then, but that didn't erase all those terrible years where Al was left completely unfeeling. He knew his brother would yell at him (again) for continuing to take on the burden of their mistakes for himself, so he'd tried his best to focus more on the positive than dwelling on it. Sometimes it was easy, and other times it was still a complete work in progress.

Ed became so lost in his own thoughts and memories that he didn't notice what Al was doing until something cold smashed against his face. He yelped, and sputtered out the bits of snow that had landed against his mouth. He glared over at Al, who started giggling at the expression.

"Did you just throw a snowball at me!?" He exclaimed, huffing out a breath of frustration and rushing down the steps of the porch to stand closer to Alphonse.

"What?" Al said, feigning innocence. "Of course not, brother! There's barely even any snow on the ground. You can't even make a good snowball out of it."

"I'll show you a good snowball..." Ed muttered bitterly, and reached down to quickly pack together the little snow there was into a weapon of his own.

Al screeched, and sprinted down the hill in an attempt to avoid Ed's revenge.

"Hey get back here, Al!" Ed shouted. He ran after him, snowball already starting to melt in his hand and freezing his fingers, but he couldn't afford to let go of it until he had a good shot at his brother.

Luckily, Al had made the mistake of constructing a snowball of his own while he was momentarily out of view, giving Ed a temporary advantage. Ed let out a quiet, evil laugh and threw the snowball hard at him.

Al noticed it coming and stopped what he was doing in an attempt to avoid it, but was hit in his arm anyway. He quietly yelped, and Ed burst into laughter at the strange noise.

"Hey!" Al shouted. He glared at his brother, the look conveying a single thought that Ed shared:

_This is war._

Instantly, they were caught in an intense battle with snow flying in all directions and attacks hitting against arms, legs, backs, and on rare occasions smacking one of them square in the face. Ed's hands were red from the cold snow repeatedly being exposed to his skin, but that alone would not cause him to surrender. He noticed how Al primarily built snowballs with his hands tucked in his sweater sleeves. This tactic took a bit longer than Ed's, but at least _Al’s_ fingers weren’t slowly losing feeling.

Neither of them had a true advantage or was officially "winning", and it looked as if this was going to drag on for quite some time. With snow still steadily falling, there was easily enough landing to keep up the fight, even as various areas kept being completely removed of snow for the sake of their fight.

Ed was aiming his latest snowball - bigger than his usual ones, with bits of green grass trapped inside it - at the back of Al's neck as Al was distracted with running further down the hill. He was preparing to finally release it when Al suddenly let out a gasp, and stumbled to the ground.

With the grass so snowy, it was entirely possible for them to slip, especially with the uneven plane they had been playing on, but while they were lost in their little game, neither had really considered it. Now their lack of foresight had caused Al to slip and tumble down the remainder of the hill in a way that looks seriously damaging. Ed felt his heart stutter to a stop as he noticed how still his brother had gone at the bottom.

"Alphonse!" He shouted, worry gripping at his insides and causing his chest to clench painfully. With no concerns for his own safety, he rushed down to Al’s unmoving form. _Oh god, please let him be okay. Tell me he isn't unconscious. Tell me he's not hurt._

Ed collapsed on the snow beside Al, and carefully grasped onto his shoulders. He shook them, desperate to get his little brother's attention. "Al... Come on, Al, open your eyes! ALPHONSE!"

Al groaned, and thankfully, his eyes slowly fluttered open, revealing disoriented golden irises. "Ed? Wh-What happened?"

"You... You slipped. You rolled all the way down the hill. Do you not remember?"

Al's brow furrowed. "Oh... right... I guess that's why I ache all over, huh?"

Ed's frown grew, and his eyes roamed over Al’s body, meticulously inspecting for any visible injuries. Al had blacked out for a second; there was no clear physical damage from this, yet it had happened and that was bad enough. What if Al had _really_ fallen the wrong way? _Dammit...._

"You have to be more careful, Al..." Ed whispered, words laced with a worry he wished he could hide better.

Al laid his left hand gently on top of Ed's right, which was still gripped tightly onto his shoulder. He squeeze it lightly and offered a reassuring smile. "Sorry, brother. I'm okay, don't worry."

"You better be."

Al nodded his confirmation, which provided all the consolation that Ed needed… for the moment, anyway. With great care, he helped Al into a seated position, and moved so he was sitting on his left, close enough that their shoulders were touching.

A comfortable silence stretched between them as they both stared up at the falling snow and allowed themselves to calm down. When Al spoke again it was quiet as to not break the delicate bubble that seemed to surround them. "I guess neither of us won that."

"You know you could have used alchemy as an advantage..." Ed replied, knowing several ways the snow could have been transmuted to gain the upper hand.

"But that doesn't keep it fair." Al said. "If you can't use it, then I won't either."

The kindness of that small gesture was not lost on Ed. "Thanks, Al."

Al looked over at him with a soft smile, "Of course, brother."

Ed's own lips quirked up at that and he reached over to give his brother's hair an affectionate ruffle. Al laughed, seeming pleased with the action which would have made most little brothers groan or roll their eyes.

"I hope you didn't forget that we still need to catch snowflakes." Al reminded him.

"Hey, you were the one who started that snowball fight in the first place! If anyone forgot why we came out here, you did!"

"Oh, but I always planned to throw a snowball at you." Al said, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. "I just didn't think you'd make it so easy."

Ed rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. "You little shit."

The words only caused Al to burst into laughter again, and Ed would seriously have tackled him if he wasn't still concerned over his wellbeing. Instead, he found himself fondly taking in the image of his brother being so damn happy over everything. He would never truly get over the fact that Alphonse was back in his own body for good and that things would be okay now.

Still smiling widely, Al leaned his head back and stuck out his tongue, moving it towards snowflakes as they fell and successfully catching several in his mouth.

Ed laughed at the childish action and how ridiculous Alphonse looked doing such a thing. Still, he couldn't deny he was compelled to join in, so he allowed himself to mimic his brother's actions, leaning back and trying to capture the snow on his own tongue.

He felt a rush of immature satisfaction as several cold and soft flakes landed into his mouth and immediately evaporated. There was no real gain to this, and it probably shouldn't have been as enjoyable as it was. Yet he found it was easy to lose himself in the silly task of getting as many snowflakes to land on his tongue as he could for a few minutes. He felt Al occasionally shake with laughter beside him, and soon he was joining in the silent mirth whenever he successfully caught a piece of snow.

It didn't take too long for him to get tired of holding his mouth open, and when he looked back down, he noticed that Al had already stopped and was staring at him with a mixture of amusement and fondness.

"Okay, mission accomplished: we caught so much snow that we’ll never be thirsty again." Ed said.

Al grinned. "I'm not so sure about _that_.”

Silence fell between them again, and only now that the fun of the snowy environment was dying down did Ed realize how _cold_ he was. Snow had soaked through his pants, the winds had grown stronger, and the temperature had dropped enough for it to be noticeable. His ears and face were starting to feel numb from the frosty air nipping at them, and he let out a sniffle before he was able to help it. Al seemed to be dealing with the same difficulties as he had wrapped his arms around himself and was trying to generate some sort of heat to keep warm.

"How about we head back home now?" Ed suggested. "If we sit in the snow much longer you could end up getting sick."

"Y-yeah, that's probably a good idea." Al agreed. "I didn't even realize how cold it was getting and I don't want _you_ to get sick either."

"Pssh, I'm fine. It's you I'm worried about.”

Over the past few months, there had been several occasions where Al felt unwell, being more susceptible to illness as he adjusted to new sensations and environments. There was a high possibility that he would already gain a cold from being outside this long.

"Well that means it's _my_ responsibility to worry and look out for _you_." Al explained. "Equivalent exchange, right?"

Ed smirked at the alchemic logic. "Yeah, equivalent exchange."

He stood up, brushing off whatever snow hadn't managed to sink through his pants and sweater, before offering a hand to Al and helping him to his feet as well. Thankfully, Al seemed to have no problem standing, so he must not have been too sore from his tumble down the hill.

Really feeling the effects of the frigid weather now, both boys tried to make their way back to the Rockbell home as quickly as possible while avoiding being unsafe and losing their footing against the slippery snow covered grass. When they finally made it back on the main path, they sprinted up to the porch and flung open the door, letting out breaths of relief as they were greeted with the warmth of the house. Ed kicked his boots off haphazardly while Al took his off one and a time and set them up neatly against the wall.

"Ugh. I need to get out of these wet clothes." Ed mumbled, shucking off his hoodie the minute they entered their room.

Al laughed, and rid himself of his own damp sweater. "I guess this is what we get for sitting in the snow so long."

"A couple of idiots we are."

"Certainly seems that way. Though in my defense, I fell down. You just decided you would sit down in the snow."

"HEY! I was making sure you were okay!"

"I know, Ed, I know. I was only teasing!"

Ed huffed out a breath of annoyance, and rummaged through his drawers for some warm clothes. Within minutes, the two of them found comfy sleepwear, changed into them, and wandered back downstairs. Neither were tired at this point and decided the best course of action was rummaging the kitchen for early morning snacks.

"I'm still cold." Ed complained, as he pulled one of Granny's chocolate chip cookies out of a jar on the counter.

"I could make us hot chocolate?" Al offered. He had become more willing to cook and make drinks since regaining his body, finding happiness in every little thing relating to food now that he was capable of actually consuming it.

Ed grinned. "Little brother, you're a lifesaver."

Al smiled brightly back and went about getting the few ingredients needed to make it. "Glad to hear it."

“Is it alright if I-?”

“Go ahead.”

Ed was convinced that they really did have some form of telepathy between them.

Grinning to himself, he wandered out to the living area to wait on the couch. He pulled a large blanket out of the nearby closet to wrap around himself in order to keep warm before plopping down. He sighed with relief, glad to finally be regaining some feeling in his hands and relaxing away from the chilly outdoors. A glance out the window showed him the snow was falling even more heavily now, and if it got any windier it would be a full on storm out there.

Now that he was sitting back down and getting comfortable, the potential to fall back asleep returned. Maybe after his hot chocolate, he could actually get some rest. Al just _had_ to have woken him up in the middle of the night, hadn't he?

Wait... he'd almost forgotten--

"The hot chocolate is served!" Alphonse announced as he walked into the room, proudly holding up two mugs.

Ed gratefully took his and hummed happily as the warm object succeeded in chasing away the last remnants of cold that clung to his fingers. Al sat down next to him, close enough that Ed was able to easily adjust his blanket in order for it to cover them both. Alphonse probably needed this amenity even more than he did, after all.

Ed took a careful sip of the drink and smiled contentedly as the flavor filled his mouth. It made his insides feel as if they were heating up as it slid down his throat, and he enthusiastically took more sips. He didn't know what exactly Al did to his hot chocolate that differentiated it from Granny's and Winry's but there was certainly _something_ , and that something was delicious.

"Thanks, Al." He said.

"You're welcome, brother. Do I still make the best hot chocolate in the house?" Al asked, smirking as if he’d read Ed’s thoughts regarding the drink.

"Yes, but don't tell Winry."

Al giggled against the mug at his lips. "It'll be our secret."

Idle conversation filled the air as they savored their drinks; mundane topics such as chores, how the weather would be tomorrow, and what they wanted to eat for dinner this coming week. It was so delightfully normal and Ed couldn't have been more relieved about it. He knew eventually he would get bored of sitting still, but for now, he was ecstatic to live this sort of life.

"Al?" Ed prompted, once they’d finished and set their empty mugs on a nearby table. They sat with their shoulders touching, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the location and each other with no desire to move back upstairs.

"Yes?" Al replied, tilting his head towards his brother curiously.

"Why were you really up in the middle of the night?" Ed asked, finally voicing the question that had been plaguing his mind since Al had woken him up excitedly talking about snow.

Al frowned as he pulled his legs up to the couch and wrapped his arms securely around them. A defensive posture; something definitely _was_ wrong. Ed turned to better face him in hopes of getting a good look at his expression. This proved to be difficult as Al tried very hard to avoid any eye contact.

"I-I'm still not really used to the nightmares." Al admitted. "It's kind of silly, but I keep having one where I'm stuck in that armour again, and I’m sure that there's no getting out of it. I always look for you in them because together we were always supposed to fix things, only…. I can’t find you anywhere, which worries me more than anything else. H-How do I know if you're okay? What if you're in trouble? And without you, Ed, what… what do I do?” He paused momentarily to take a shaky breath, and his eyes shone as if he was dangerously close to tears.

_I’ll never let you be alone._ Ed promised himself. _Even if you can’t find me in your dreams, I’ll always be there when you wake up._

Al wiped at his eyes and continued, “I try to run away, to find something that will help me, but I get pulled away by Pride or another Homunculus, and then I'm trapped. Trapped underground with Father, trapped in the armour permanently..." he trailed off momentarily, and when he spoke again, distress was even clearer in his voice than before, "It's so horribly _suffocating_ and when I wake up I-- I feel like _this_ is the dream. Because how did everything turn out so _perfectly,_ brother? I couldn't... I can't go back to sleep because I’m afraid of being locked back in that nightmare. Part of me feels like if I keep going back to it... that.... that I'll _never_ be able to get out."

Ed frowned, a sharp pain striking his chest as he carefully took in Alphonse's words. He couldn’t bear to watch his little brother suffer in any way, and nightmares were hard to deal with since he couldn’t physically fight them off.

The first few weeks back in his body, Al had been afraid to sleep, and each nightmare had him waking up screaming. Ed always tried his best to soothe him, whispering soft words of reassurance and staying close to him for the rest of the night. It usually helped, and soon enough, Al was seemingly sleeping better. Ed thought the frequent nightmares had stopped, but maybe, Al had just gotten better at hiding them as time went on.

"I don't think it's silly, Al.” Ed said, and offered what he hoped was a comforting smile. “After all we've been through, horrifying nightmares are bound to happen. It doesn't make you weak. In fact, you're the strongest person I've ever met.” Al stared at him in surprise and Ed laughed softly. “You are. Even with everything you had to deal with, you always kept fighting, and you were always so hopeful. You're _still_ dealing with so much, and trying to carry the weight of it by yourself. But you shouldn't have to go through this alone. What else are brothers for if not to help each other through the hard stuff?"

Al uncurled himself from his position, adjusting his legs to one side of him on the couch and letting his hands fall to his lap. Taking the opportunity, Ed carefully took Al’s right hand into his left and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Al’s lips curved into a small smile at the contact.

"I still have nightmares too, way more often than I’d like." Ed admitted, recalling nights where he woke up and had to watch as Al slept for several long minutes to take in the fact he was alive and real. Sometimes this gave him the courage to pass out again; other times, when Al wasn’t at the center of his nightmares, he couldn’t sleep at all, memories becoming too powerful to push back. "There have been so many times I've wanted to wake you up, just to talk with you and reassure myself, but I’ve never gone through with it. Maybe I should have. We could have been helping each other out all this time... and from now on, we will. I promise."

Alphonse watched him with wide, hopeful eyes that were now dripping with tears. He sniffed, and wiped away the ones that managed to slip down his face. When he focused back on Ed, he was smiling gratefully. "You're right. Thank you, brother."

Ed wrapped his right arm around Al. "They're just dreams, right? No matter how bad they are, we can handle them together."

"Yeah, together..." Al agreed, and rested his head against Ed's shoulder, fully leaning against him now.

Ed didn't mind one bit, and tilted his head so his face was settled against his brother's hair. He let out a content sigh and began rubbing his hand comfortingly up and down Al's arm. "You gonna be okay?"

"I will.” Al replied. “How about you?"

_Ever the concerned little brother._

Ed smirked. "I've never been better."

"Good." Al muttered, and Ed could hear the drowsiness that was creeping into his voice.

The sun would probably rise in a few hours, but for now there was still time to get some rest. Ed would happily take advantage of that, and he wasn't going to move a muscle to do so. Compared to some of the places and ways he'd slept, this was the most comfortable place in the entire world.

Al's quiet snores could be heard within minutes, and it wasn't long before Ed's snores joined his in the quiet room. Curled together, warm and protected, they were safe for the night.


End file.
